Assignment # 3: Language Arts Activities and Games
ABCYA! URL: http://www.abcya.com/noun_verb_game/nouns_and_verbs.htm Game: Ice Cream Talk Level: Primary (k-3) Summary of the website: This website had a variety of games for children. When you first approach the site, you are greeted with an orange background and number of games. These games have to do social studies, language arts, math, and numbers. Towards the bottom of the page, the students can click on their grade level and then a completely new list of games appears that pertain to their age level. The colors were friendly and bright. It was easy to navigate and very kid oriented. Summary of the Game: I thought the game was very interesting and educational. In order to play the game you first had to choose if you wanted to search for nouns, verbs, or both in the sentence. Once the child has done this, the sentence appears on the top of the page and the child has to click on the verb or noun. If the child gets the answer right, they will obtain an ice cream scoop on their cone. If the child gets the answer wrong, the monster will obtain the ice cream. In order to win or go onto the next round the child has to win 10 ice cream scoops. The game was child oriented, and they would enjoy it. Evaluation: Overall, the website was very child friendly, and easy to use. The colors were bright and fun and the language was not hard to understand. I think the game I chose in particular will help the students understand grammar of the English language, and may give them a challenge, especially if they are not familiar with grammar. Color: The colors are bright and fun! The ice cream scoops are pinks,blues, browns, and greens. It also appears that you are outside standing on grass with a blue sky background. Repetition: Music plays and that is a repeating aspect of the game. Also, when you get a right answer a green check mark appears and when you are incorrect a red “x” mark. Talking Text: There is no text instead, the computer speaks the directions to the children, and it is also printed in from of them. Visual Cues: Once they find all the verbs or nouns in their sentence, there is a green Next sign that indicated to go to the next round. Mistakes: When the kids make a mistake a big red “x” shows up and a beeping sound. Rating: N/AHighlighted Cues: When the kids are ready to move onto the next round a green Next button shows up and they can move on to the next ride. Navigation Routine: The game really does not use any navigations however, the only thing the kids have to use the computer for is to click on the Next button and the word that is a noun or verb. Click back and back: N/A Click and Drag: N/A Click forward: N/A Rating: 8
Game: Sesame Street Alphabet Soup with Cookie Monster
Level: Primary (K-3)
Summary of Website: I thought this website had a variety of different games the kids can play. They had all kinds of games that related to different characters, for example Sesame Street. The website incorporated bright colors and was easy to navigate for a child. Summary of the game: Cookie Monster leads this game. He explains how to play the game and helps you get the right answer. The game involves a bowl of soup and two letter “noodles.” One letter is missing. They give you three options and you can choose any letter you want, because they all make a word. Cookie Monster then tells you the word and relates it to an object that the child would know. Evaluation: Overall, this website was great. I thought that it was designed for a child. The game can help the child learn new words, and Cookie Monster makes the sound of the letters. This will help them with the alphabet and how to form words. In addition, the children will know the characters and will be able to relate to the website. Color: They are primary colors, blue, red, white, and yellow. They are bright and attract the eye.Repetition: Cookie Monster repeats the sound of the letters that are missing. After the three words are made, Cookie Monster eats the soup and then makes a new batch. Talking Text: Cookie Monster talks the whole time you play the game. He explains the directions and sounds out the letters. Visual Cues: The only visual cue is the curser becomes a yellow star and Cookie Monster mentions to use the gold star to click on the letter. Mistakes: The child cannot make a mistake. The game does not allow this. They give you three letters you choose from and they all make a word. Rating: N/AHighlighted Cues: N/A Navigation Routine: It is very easy to navigate especially because Cookie Monster explains gradually what you should do. Click back and back: when you click back, it brings you back to the game page, if you want to choose a new one. Click and Drag: N/AClick forward: If you click forward, it will bring you back to the Alphabet Soup game. Rating: 7 Learning Planet URL:http://members.learningplanet.com/act/dws/free.asp
Game: Daily Word Search
Level: Primary (K-3)
Summary of Website: This website allows you to choose your grade level, and then gives you a list of games the child can choose. Since the website is called Learning Planet, there are some space references as well. There is an array of colors, there are none particular. The website does not incorporate a wide variety of games, there are limited you can choose from. Summary of the Game: I thought this game was geared towards older primary grades, perhaps second or third grade. It was a word search that electronically. It gave you the option of hints, which allowed three per game. It also was based on a certain topic. The one I played was about Canada. All the words had something to do with Canada. It had some sound effects, and kept points. It also had a time clock to keep track of the time. Evaluation: This website was my least favorite I chose. I thought it could have had more games instead of such a limited variety. I also think it should have been more eye catching. The colors were not bright enough for a young child, and I think it should have been formatted in a simpler way. Color:The colors were dark blue, and had stars all over the background of the word search. Repetition: There is not any repetition, except for when you circle the right word a bell chimes to indicate you got it, and gives you extra points. Talking Text: There is no talking text. Visual Cues: The only visual cues that are in the game are when you are reading the directions. There is a NEXT button to get to the next set of instructions. Mistakes: You cannot make any mistakes, because you are searching for words. Rating: N/A Highlighted Cues: The only cues are the NEXT button in the instructions. Navigation Routine: The game is easy to navigate after reading the instructions, because they explain every aspect of the game. It is not hard to click the words or anything of that nature. Click back and back: when you click the back button, it brings you back to the grade level the child can choose from. Click and Drag: You have to use the click and drag feature for the whole game. Once you find a word in the puzzle, you start with the first letter and drag your curser to the end of the letter. Click forward: N/A Rating: 5.5
Teresa Laurito
EDC203-01
October 1 , 2010
Assignment # 3: Language Arts Activities and Games
ABCYA!
URL: http://www.abcya.com/noun_verb_game/nouns_and_verbs.htm
Game: Ice Cream Talk
Level: Primary (k-3)
Summary of the website: This website had a variety of games for children. When you first approach the site, you are greeted with an orange background and number of games. These games have to do social studies, language arts, math, and numbers. Towards the bottom of the page, the students can click on their grade level and then a completely new list of games appears that pertain to their age level. The colors were friendly and bright. It was easy to navigate and very kid oriented. Summary of the Game: I thought the game was very interesting and educational. In order to play the game you first had to choose if you wanted to search for nouns, verbs, or both in the sentence. Once the child has done this, the sentence appears on the top of the page and the child has to click on the verb or noun. If the child gets the answer right, they will obtain an ice cream scoop on their cone. If the child gets the answer wrong, the monster will obtain the ice cream. In order to win or go onto the next round the child has to win 10 ice cream scoops. The game was child oriented, and they would enjoy it. Evaluation: Overall, the website was very child friendly, and easy to use. The colors were bright and fun and the language was not hard to understand. I think the game I chose in particular will help the students understand grammar of the English language, and may give them a challenge, especially if they are not familiar with grammar. Color: The colors are bright and fun! The ice cream scoops are pinks,blues, browns, and greens. It also appears that you are outside standing on grass with a blue sky background. Repetition: Music plays and that is a repeating aspect of the game. Also, when you get a right answer a green check mark appears and when you are incorrect a red “x” mark. Talking Text: There is no text instead, the computer speaks the directions to the children, and it is also printed in from of them. Visual Cues: Once they find all the verbs or nouns in their sentence, there is a green Next sign that indicated to go to the next round. Mistakes: When the kids make a mistake a big red “x” shows up and a beeping sound. Rating: N/AHighlighted Cues: When the kids are ready to move onto the next round a green Next button shows up and they can move on to the next ride. Navigation Routine: The game really does not use any navigations however, the only thing the kids have to use the computer for is to click on the Next button and the word that is a noun or verb. Click back and back: N/A Click and Drag: N/A Click forward: N/A Rating: 8
PBS KIDS
URL: http://pbskids.org/sesame/games/cookie_soup.html
Game: Sesame Street Alphabet Soup with Cookie Monster
Level: Primary (K-3)
Summary of Website: I thought this website had a variety of different games the kids can play. They had all kinds of games that related to different characters, for example Sesame Street. The website incorporated bright colors and was easy to navigate for a child. Summary of the game: Cookie Monster leads this game. He explains how to play the game and helps you get the right answer. The game involves a bowl of soup and two letter “noodles.” One letter is missing. They give you three options and you can choose any letter you want, because they all make a word. Cookie Monster then tells you the word and relates it to an object that the child would know. Evaluation: Overall, this website was great. I thought that it was designed for a child. The game can help the child learn new words, and Cookie Monster makes the sound of the letters. This will help them with the alphabet and how to form words. In addition, the children will know the characters and will be able to relate to the website. Color: They are primary colors, blue, red, white, and yellow. They are bright and attract the eye.Repetition: Cookie Monster repeats the sound of the letters that are missing. After the three words are made, Cookie Monster eats the soup and then makes a new batch. Talking Text: Cookie Monster talks the whole time you play the game. He explains the directions and sounds out the letters. Visual Cues: The only visual cue is the curser becomes a yellow star and Cookie Monster mentions to use the gold star to click on the letter. Mistakes: The child cannot make a mistake. The game does not allow this. They give you three letters you choose from and they all make a word. Rating: N/AHighlighted Cues: N/A Navigation Routine: It is very easy to navigate especially because Cookie Monster explains gradually what you should do. Click back and back: when you click back, it brings you back to the game page, if you want to choose a new one. Click and Drag: N/AClick forward: If you click forward, it will bring you back to the Alphabet Soup game. Rating: 7
Learning Planet
URL: http://members.learningplanet.com/act/dws/free.asp
Game: Daily Word Search
Level: Primary (K-3)
Summary of Website: This website allows you to choose your grade level, and then gives you a list of games the child can choose. Since the website is called Learning Planet, there are some space references as well. There is an array of colors, there are none particular. The website does not incorporate a wide variety of games, there are limited you can choose from.
Summary of the Game: I thought this game was geared towards older primary grades, perhaps second or third grade. It was a word search that electronically. It gave you the option of hints, which allowed three per game. It also was based on a certain topic. The one I played was about Canada. All the words had something to do with Canada. It had some sound effects, and kept points. It also had a time clock to keep track of the time.
Evaluation: This website was my least favorite I chose. I thought it could have had more games instead of such a limited variety. I also think it should have been more eye catching. The colors were not bright enough for a young child, and I think it should have been formatted in a simpler way.
Color:The colors were dark blue, and had stars all over the background of the word search.
Repetition: There is not any repetition, except for when you circle the right word a bell chimes to indicate you got it, and gives you extra points.
Talking Text: There is no talking text.
Visual Cues: The only visual cues that are in the game are when you are reading the directions. There is a NEXT button to get to the next set of instructions.
Mistakes: You cannot make any mistakes, because you are searching for words.
Rating: N/A
Highlighted Cues: The only cues are the NEXT button in the instructions.
Navigation Routine: The game is easy to navigate after reading the instructions, because they explain every aspect of the game. It is not hard to click the words or anything of that nature.
Click back and back: when you click the back button, it brings you back to the grade level the child can choose from.
Click and Drag: You have to use the click and drag feature for the whole game. Once you find a word in the puzzle, you start with the first letter and drag your curser to the end of the letter.
Click forward: N/A
Rating: 5.5